George Town, Grand Cayman, (March, 2014) – It’s been seven years since the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) first signed the historic agreement with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia that allows aircraft registered in the Cayman Islands to operate commercial air transport by a Saudi Arabian airline.  This agreement, which requires the approval of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), is executed in accordance with the standards and recommended practices of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and has been working exceptionally well for the CAACI, GACA and Saudi airline, National Air Services (flyNAS). This airline currently operates a total of 26 Cayman Islands registered aircraft that includes the Airbus A320 and Embraer 195 types.

The agreement provides for the sharing of regulatory oversight responsibilities between the State of Registry (Cayman) and the State of the Operator (Saudi Arabia).  As a registry of choice, the Cayman Islands have long been recognized as a stable jurisdiction with high regulatory standards for the registration of aircraft for global corporations, affluent individuals and aircraft leasing companies.

Each year, the two aviation authorities meet to review the Agreement and to plan future activities for this shared safety oversight.  In late January, a CAACI team led by Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr. Richard Smith, that included Airworthiness and Flight Operations personnel travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet with GACA officials for this purpose.  The discussions resulted in consensus to extend and expand the scope of cooperation to allow additional commercial operations under the Agreement.  This will also create additional opportunities for the CI Aircraft Registry within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region.

Mr. Smith commented “The Agreement between the CAACI and GACA is regarded as a model for regulatory cooperation between two States’ aviation authorities.  Our working relationship with GACA has matured over the years and has evolved into a high level of respect for each other’s regulatory obligations.  The mutual benefit to our respective aviation industries is also recognized.”

The CAACI is a financially self-sustaining statutory authority that makes significant contribution to CI Government revenues annually.

Background info to augment:

The CAACI has full designation for safety oversight as a UK OT, and is one of only two OTs to enjoy such delegation. The CAACI is responsible for both financial and economic regulation of the Cayman aviation industry. In addition, the Cayman Islands is classified as Category 1 by the USA Federal Aviation Administration under their “International Aviation Safety Assessments” programme that evaluates a country’s civil aviation authority’s ability to effectively regulate its aviation industry. This rating enables commercial air transport operators registered in Cayman to conduct international air transport operations into the USA, i.e, Cayman Airways, Ltd. The requirement for such rating lies with the CAACI being assessed as having technically qualified and highly experienced  staff to effectively oversee the aviation industry in accordance with established standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Photo caption: Director-General and staff of CAACI with GACA representatives